4 new primary health care centres next year
Dubai will have 18 such facilities with opening of centres in Abu Hail Al Ghusais, Al Habab and Umm Suqeim
The Dubai Health Authority (DHA) will open four primary health care centres at the beginning of 2019 to meet the health care needs of the emirate, a top DHA official said on Wednesday.
Speaking exclusively to Gulf News, Dr Manal Taryam, CEO of Primary Health Care at the DHA, said: “We are opening these centres in Al Ghusais, Umm Suqeim, Abu Hail and Al Habab.”
With the addition of these four centres, Dubai will have 18 such facilities, with a few more planned till 2021.
Primary health care centres are the first frontier before a patient decides to contact a hospital. They offer a wide range of services including medical screening tests for those seeking residence visas as well as facilities for immunisation and premarital genetic screenings.
A few centres work roundthe-clock offering emergency medical services while some provide home care for the geriatric population.
Statistics provided by DHA ■ indicate that nearly 500,000 residents (both nationals and expatriates) visited primary health care centres in 2017 just for consultation in family medicine alone.
Dr Al Taryam added that that PHCs were an important part of the Dubai Health Strategy 2021. “Our primary health care centres provide public health facilities for a community such as antismoking, geriatric and home care clinics, wellness promotion clinics and health education apart from nutrition and diet facilities.
Ease of accessibility
PHCs found throughout the emirate are set up keeping in mind a ratio of one health centre or clinic for every 30,000 individuals.
Dr Al Taryam added: “Our census reveals a need for a primary health centre in a particular area as per the population density and we decide to set it up accordingly.”